My Mother gradated from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in 1960. She wore the same dress for prom, baccalaureate and graduation. My Grandfather, Ray Bolger owned a mens clothing store at the time. As Saks Fifth Avenue and I. Magnin were moving into town, local seamstresses who did custom made clothing were short of work and being pushed out by The Man and mass produced clothing. Charlott Fleischer was a seamstress that my Grandfather knew and often gave quick turn around work that their on site tailor, Mr. Casassa didn’t have time to do. She was also given the task of making Mother Dear’s prom dress.

It began as a simple sheath dress of eyelet organdy over a buttery yellow taffeta lining. Just two side seams with a metal Talon zipper and a heavily darted bodice and skirt. The side seams are expertly finished and slit 6 inches up each side seam. The scalloped edge is perfectly positioned so that when the slit lies flat, the flower and scallop are perfectly matched. It measures 33-24-36, once again proving you can have a tiny waist, but you can’t have boobs too! For prom, my Mother asked that a tiered skirt also be made to be worn over the sheath so she could have a full skirted party dress for that occasion. She attended with her long time beau, Bernie Albers (pictured above) and wore only the simple pearl bracelet that was among the many pieces of gold and pearl jewelry he gave her over their courtship.

Later she wore just the sheath to baccalaureate with a creamy, unlined eyelet bolero that was added to the ensemble as the custom made process progressed. I still have all the pieces of this fine ensemble and have featured them in a Mother's Day vintage fashion show in the recent past as pictured above and below.

The grosgrain ribbon trimmed inner waistline of this dress hides the accurate label: Dresses of Distinction by Charlott Fleischer Veinna-Portland.

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"Alexsandra helped me transform my great grandmother's turn of the century dress into my dream wedding dress. The dress was way too small for me, but through some seamstress magic, Alexsandra was able to not only create a dress that fit me well but also preserved the original design, should someone down the line want to restore it to it's original condition. Alexsandra is available by appointment only, which is very convenient and it's never hard to find a time. Appointments are fun and often include the witty banter of her mother. She was masterful in taking my wishes and vision and making them come to life in a practical way, always keeping cost in mind and making sure that the project expense wouldn't spiral out of control. I am so happy that I chose to work with Alexsandra and support a local business instead of sinking a bunch of money in to a generic poor quality dress from a box store."